An attempt is made to share the truth regarding issues concerning Israel and her right to exist as a Jewish nation. This blog has expanded to present information about radical Islam and its potential impact upon Israel and the West. Yes, I do mix in a bit of opinion from time to time.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

"Did He Have to Do That?"

Well, it's New Year's
Day. Knowing both how busy I am (it's a "regular" day here), and how
likely it is that many will be away from the computer for New Year's Day, I was
not going to write. But my prime minister's recent
statement motivated (compelled?) me to do so.

First, let me wish
everyone a happy secular new year. It is never the wrong time for wishes
for blessing and good things.

~~~~~~~~~~

And to the
subject at hand:

There has been
a good deal of political discussion here of late regarding a Palestinian state
-- whether there is a commitment to one, whether it would good, whether we
should support one, etc.

Minister of
Education Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) said recently that a Palestinian state
has never been part of the Likud platform. Sa'ar is a big vote-getter and
a good guy in Likud.

Credit: IsraelHayom

~~~~~~~~~~

Then the
political newcomer who is fourth on the Likud list and sure to be in the next
government, Yair Shamir -- son of former prime minster Yitzhak
Shamir, wrote an op-ed about "Why I oppose a Palestinian
state":

"...we
must remove the idea of a Palestinian state in our area from the Israeli agenda
immediately, if not sooner."

Credit: catalyst-fund

I regret that
he spoke only in security terms, about what damage such a state would bring in
its wake, and not about our rights to Judea and Samaria, but
OK. He is opposed.

And it was
important that Shamir referred back to Yitzhak Rabin, who signed on to the Oslo
Accords. Many people imagine -- this myth has been refined over time
-- that Rabin was solidly for a Palestinian state. But he was not. Shortly
before his death, Rabin spoke of what he envisioned with Oslo, which was an
autonomy short of a full state. In his article, Shamir presented evidence
of Rabin's opinion on the matter.

MK Tzipi
Hotovely (Likud) ventured the opinion at Hebrew University yesterday that
when Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about a Palestinian state in his 2009 Bar
Ilan talk, it was “a tactical speech for the world...Netanyahu made the
speech in response to accusations from the Arab world and to expose Mahmoud
Abbas, who refuses to recognize the Jewish state.”

Going
good. Her implication is that he wasn't really devoted to that
concept.

~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, we
also saw that President Shimon Peres made a statement about "peace" being a
top priority, and referred to Abbas as a "partner for peace."

But this is
Peres, who, at 89, is not about to change. He's one of those "head in an
alternate reality" people and I sense that he really believes what he is
saying.

Anyway, there
were a number of responses to him.

Because I
always enjoy a laugh, I rather liked the irritated reaction of PA negotiator
Saeb Erekat, who observed that, “He’s meddling in Palestinian politics and
deciding who can and who can’t be a party to talks.” Peres should take a
hint from this, but he won't.

~~~~~~~~~~

The most solid response to the president came from Habayit
Hayehudi head Naftali Bennett, who declared, "enough
already" with "peace process" talk. The Oslo Accords, he
reminded Peres, “brought us more than 1,600 murdered Israelis
[via terrorist attacks].”

“Enough, already. The President of the
country is supposed to represent all of the country, not just a part of
it.

“Mr. President,
it is clear that your intentions were good, but that does not make any
difference. The time has come for some soul searching. Perhaps giving land to our enemies does not
work?"

~~~~~~~~~~

All of this said
and done, a spokesman for the Likud-Beitenu joint list declared, in
response to what has been going on, that Prime Minister Netanyahu
stands by his support for a Palestinian state under the conditions described in
his 2009 Bar Ilan talk.

Of course, then
there were all the qualifiers: a Palestinian state will be possible when the
Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people, will agree to
the end of conflict, and will make appropriate arrangements regarding Israel's
security requirements (which includes demilitarization).

But it is with
regard to this that I ask if the prime minister really really needed to do
it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Qualifiers aside,
I see it as a huge mistake.

There are those now claiming that Hotovely was wrong
-- that he is really supportive in principle of the idea of a Palestinian
state and that his Bar Ilan speech was not simply tactical.

I am not sure that is correct. Much that Netanyahu
does is "tactical." He "plays" various situations for various
purposes. And I suspect the statement about his standing by his support is
also tactical. He has taken a tougher stance of late, saying that we will
build in Jerusalem no matter what the world says, and so on and so on.

But he's not ready to take that additional step. He
has, I would guess, sufficiently incurred the wrath of the world with the
announcements about planning to build in E1 or establishing new neighborhoods in
Jerusalem past the Green Line, so that he does not wish to push it
further.

~~~~~~~~~~

Netanyahu knows full well that there is not a snowball's
chance in hell that Abbas will come to the table and seriously negotiate
that two state solution. Thus, there is absolutely no risk to him on that
score. It's a throw-away offer, meant, I believe, to show the world,
still, that the PLO is at fault and he is willing.

If hell froze over and Abbas did come to the table, would
Netanyahu negotiate a Palestinian state? I cannot see into his
heart. But I believe if everything were equal he would rather do without
it. He's not Livni, nor Olmert -- he's not pining to rectify the terrible
"wrong" we have done in "occupying" "Palestinian land."

~~~~~~~~~~

But even if this is just tactical. It's a terrible tactic.
To me it smacks of groveling: See, see, how I am willing?

He might have said something like:

"I meant it when, over three years ago, I offered a
Palestinian state, with appropriate conditions. And I was the one --
the only Israeli prime minister ever -- who froze building in communities in
Judea and Samaria for 10 months, because this is what Mr. Abbas wanted.

"And what have we gotten for it? The PA still
teaches its children that jihad is good and that Israel belongs to them.
It still venerates terrorists. Venerates terrorists? It's talking about a
unity government with the terrorist Hamas. In fact, Hamas is gaining
strength in Judea and Samaria and intends to topple the PA there, as it did in
Gaza. While, at the same time, the PA security forces have reduced security
cooperation with Israel. And as if this were not enough, Mr. Abbas
acted unilaterally in a fashion prohibited by the Oslo Accords when he went to
the UN.

"The PA, which is awash in corruption and as a result is
falling apart fiscally, has done everything but build a state-in-the-making in
positive ways and genuinely prepare its people for peace.

"I do not wish to kid myself or to delude my people.
There is no reason to entertain thoughts of a Palestinian state."

~~~~~~~~~~

In truth, he comes so very close to this. Today,
Netanyahu said:

"Everyone knows that Hamas could take over the Palestinian
Authority. It could happen after an agreement, it could happen
before an agreement, like it happened in Gaza. Therefore, as opposed to the
voices that I have heard recently urging me to run forward, make concessions,
[and] withdraw, I think that the diplomatic process must be managed responsibly
and sagaciously and not in undue haste."

So, he demonstrates clearly what is not viable -- but
insists on referring to a "diplomatic process" as if there were one. There isn't.

~~~~~~~~~~

I mentioned above prominent members of Likud, such as
Shamir and Sa'ar, who are against a Palestinian state. And there are
others. MK Ze'ev Elkin, Coalition Chair, for example, and Minister of
Public Diplomacy Yuli Edelstein. More good guys.

Quite simply, a good number of the people in the Likud
faction are unhappy with their leader right now. Tonight I spoke with
someone who works within the party (not in an elected position) and he indicated
precisely this to me.

And so this situation must play itself out. Because what
we're seeing is that the party of Naftali Bennett is gaining in the polls at the
expense of Likud.

The Israeli electorate is moving right:

A poll just released by Israeli Channel Two Television
indicates that 70% of Israelis (and this includes Arabs) do not think it's
possible "to reach a solution to the dispute with the Palestinians in the
near future."

While a poll announced by Israel Hayom yesterday indicates
that "about 83 percent of Israelis believe pulling back to the pre-1967
armistice lines will not bring an end to the conflict nor a peace accord with
the Palestinians."

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We are hypocrites and cowards - we take freedom for granted as it is eroding underneath our feet‏

Message to offended Muslims

A GOOD, TRUE STORY NOT KNOWN BY MANY.....Air Force.

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

What happened?

Mark Hasten Tribute Video Touro College

Housing Quiz

The Record-so far...!

CBS special on Bengazi

Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare

Sally Nelson

Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.

Islamization on the move

"What we are dealing with is Islamization. Islamization is the imposition of ideological norms in increasing severity. Like Nazification, it transforms a society by remaking it in its own image from the largest to the smallest of details."Daniel Greenfield

Toronto rejects Anti-Israel Ads...

Shrinking Lands

Why Israel opposes international forces in the jordan valley/

/why-israel-opposes-international-forces-in-the-jordan-valley/

Islam is Islam, And That’s It

Back in 2007, when confronted with the phrase “moderate Islam”, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan famously responded: “These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading and annotating this video: View video at http://gatesofvienna.net/

There's no racist like a liberal racist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vz4PjxSmtoI

Ex-Navy SEAL Drops Bombshell On FOX: Says Government is Creating Conditions to Impose Martial Law R

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDuds14OBiE#t=156

American surprise

The Nairobi Mall Massacre

Ninh Chu Ninh Chu

Islam Untied

Platitudes about Islam being a faith of peace are not credible anymore. Islam is only as good as the way its followers practice it; and if they have created killing fields in the name of Islam, then Islam will be recognized by the silence of those who did not speak out when their faith was being massacred to massacre humanity.

AFTERBURNER w/ BILL WHITTLE: The Lynching

What-are you against peace?

Sydney Wake Up The Horrific Muslim Infiltration Of Britain - Luton

Kerry: 'Core Issue of Instability ... Is the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'‏

Kerry is no friend. By endorsing the "Arab peace initiative" he shows his true intentions and beliefs . And by endorsing linkage he shows that he is either a liar or a fool.Syria is on fire, Egypt is at best incredibly unstable and this is due to Israel? It is out in the open!

A word to left-wing students

In their own words-ru listening?

"The lesson these Islamist groups appear to be drawing from events in Egypt is that democratic engagement with opponents is pointless. And that doesn't bode well for countries with strong Islamist movements..."

Flashback: Obama Admits He Cut Medicare

Another Democratic slogan blown to h....

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

When nations and cultures ignore the early warning signs of the infiltration of radical Islam

The UK has 85 sharia courts. France has over 750 “no go zones,” Muslim enclaves where even French police don’t enter.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDKk15KcqNk&feature=email

No such thing as "Islamophobia"

However, if you do not want your positions challenged or criticized or even researched, make up a new "phobia"-shout it long enough and some "people", agenda driven, will use it. Ay, yes, the false term does keep many, many financially rewarded-follow the money.gs don morris, Ph.D.

Khader Adnan: Leader of Islamic jihad or innocent baker?

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.More...

Omar Barghouti's Propaganda at USC on January 12, 2012

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’ -- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.Clare M. Lopez

Americans are opening their eyes

Advertisers fleeing All-American Muslim 'propaganda'The American people are seeing through the propaganda piece that is TLC's All-American Muslim reality/dawah show, and responsible advertisers are fleeing in droves. The show aims to combat a trumped-up problem, "Islamophobia," by presenting Muslims who are just ordinary folk, and

Why Islam is Incompatible with Western Law

Col. Allen West answers a question on muslim terror

Challah's Gaza Rocket Counter

This Month:4Last Month:191

This Year: 562

Total since 2002: 12055

Cease fire Hamas style!!

Thanks http://challahhuakbar.blogspot.com/

"Islamophobia"

"Islamophobia" was a politically manipulative coinage designed to silence critics of Islamic supremacism.It was invented, deliberately, by a Muslim Brotherhood front organization, the International Institute for Islamic Thought, which is based in Northern Virginia.

10 Unknown West Bank Facts

Liberals Redefine "Extremism" and the "Political Center"

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist.The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Don’t ever call it ‘West Bank’ again

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Who do the territories belong to?

The legal borders of Israel under international law

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror YeminiIn 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state. Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

How Liberals Argue

Hebrew Univ-you rock!!

Judea and Samaria are not "occupied" lands-why?

Judea-Samaria were not only parts of the ancient Jewish homeland but were recognized as part of the Jewish National Home recognized by San Remo and the League of Nations [1920, 1922] and by the UN charter [article 80; 1945].

"Political Correctness."

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."Texas A&M

Christopher Monckton Speaking in St. Paul on the climate issues

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

WHAT Golda Meir actually said...

"When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian state? It was either southern Syria before the First World War, and then it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist." Golda Meir June 15, 1969: Interview in the UK Sunday Times

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

About Me

Semi-retired Professor, now also permanent resident of Israel;divides time between both countries-serves on several Boards of Directors for Israel advocacy groups;Chana, resident of Jerusalem, JCPA member